EOC support groups to hold informational meeting, facility open house

GEORGETOWN, DEL. [Monday, Aug. 24, 2015] – Two volunteer groups that support Sussex County first responders are teaming up to recruit new members and educate the public on the critical role ordinary citizens can serve during emergencies.

The Sussex County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), part of Sussex County Citizen Corps, and the Sussex County Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) program, will hold a joint informational meeting and open house at the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center, from 7 to 9 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. The center is located at 21911 Rudder Lane, on the grounds of Delaware Coastal Airport, just east of Georgetown, Del.

The event is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about volunteering to support emergency services. Tours of the EOC/911 center will be available, as well as information on the County’s Smart911 program. Light refreshments will be served.

Created in 2002, Citizen Corps/CERT is a national program through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with local councils, that provides everyday people the chance to learn skills used in responding to disasters, whether man-made or natural. Members use that training to support public safety when resources may be limited. CERT members are trained in a variety of preparedness skills, including fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Sussex County adopted the Citizen Corps/CERT model in 2007.

Sussex County RACES, now in its eighth year of service in Sussex County, is a volunteer group of amateur radio enthusiasts assigned to aid the EOC during special events and/or major disasters, providing a critical communications link in the event conventional radio, telephones or other forms of communication are down.

For more information, contact Carl Davis, Sussex County Citizen Corps Council coordinator, at (302) 858-5302 or citizencorps@sussexcountyde.gov, or John Ferguson, Sussex County RACES radio officer, at (302) 858-5310 or k3pfw@arrl.net.

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Media Contact

Carl Davis, Citizen Corps coordinator
(302) 858-5302